9 common mistakes in social media

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Javi Del Campo's picture
Javi Del Campo
· 12/09/2016

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In many occasions companies overestimate the value of a good social media management, whether it is to position themselves on the top or to maintain and captivate clients with their online reputation. The lack of knowledge on the topic and miscalculating some of their actions in social media often get companies to make key mistakes. These mistakes can turn into troubles like staggered growth in followers, not interacting with fans or gradual loss of the fans you had. Here are the top 9 mistakes:

 

1. Not having a strategy
You have to make a social media plan and think of some goals. For that purpose you must abide strictly to all the tactics and actions you planned for yourself. Don’t work aimlessly or you’re lost.

 

2. Lack of consistency
May common sense guide you through picking the amount of publications you make every week. But make whatever amount you find are needed without saturating your timeline, the only thing you’ll get is unfollows. Pick content you know your audience will like and, most of all, with a constant rhythm. Your audience will get used to it. In fact, if you stop publishing and come back, you’ll notice it’s hard to pick it up again.

 

3. Not being a qualified professional
Don’t be the smartass that uses social networks in a personal level and thinks they can do it professionally. Educate yourself, become a specialized personal that knows their trade better than anyone else.

 

4. Not caring about your posts
It’s not enough to have an exceptional proofreading or your article being the best ever. You have to curate the posts, for example, by adding a catchy image—preferably yours—. If not, it would be ideal for the image to have a Creative Commons license. There are many image banks with this kind of license, there some very cool ones there.

Besides, if you’re creating an event, a contest, if you’re using Facebook Ads, etc, make a creative post that grabs the attention. Not everyone has a designer in their staff so there are several small programs very easy to use, like Canva, that will help you make striking and powerful ads.

 

5. Not analyzing your statistics
Whether it is weekly or monthly you must study and analyze the statistics your accounts produce. Just checking them won’t do, you have to seize them. A good analysis will help you know what’s working and change what doesn’t. Seems very easy but it’s really one of the more complicated steps. It takes time to understand them and they have infinite possible analysis. Don’t panic, use the useful interpretations.

 

6. Not answering the users
Although many times a simple “like” to the comment can be enough, try answering to all of them. This way you’ll get more feedback and make your followers interact and participate of all your post, getting them to be more viral.

It’s very important to have your own style (that you should have established already) in accordance to the brand you represent. You can use a closer or more formal tone. It also depends on your followers’ type. Find your tone and you’ll find success.

 

7. Not using tools
If you’re starting out you may try to bite more than you can chew. In the long run (it you manage several accounts or networks) you’re going to need online tools to make all processes easier. With them you’ll be able to use your time in other tasks just as important as these. There is an infinite amount of tools, all very simple to use. For example: Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Buffer… some even have a limited free version to get you going.

 

8. Not having a backup plan 
It is necessary to have a backup plan for social networks that will help you manage the online reputation for your brand in the hardest times. Many companies lack these kinds of plans and when the time comes they really regret it. Study the company’s weak points and have your plan near you at all times, because everything happens very fast on the internet and when you least expect it. We have a  guía de Vilma Nuñez on the subject.

 

9. Not trying or experimenting

Try new things. Change activities, type of posts, display, tone, and schedule… don’t be afraid to innovate, to put your ideas into practice (as risky as they seem). Use all your analytics and all that useful information they give you. Don’t get discouraged, you’ll find the formula (it is never that big of a secret)

Starting out is always complicated, but we can ensure you that if you’re consistent, organized and you optimize your time you’ll reach your goals.

There are infinite possible mistakes you shouldn’t fall for. If you think about any, please share it with us

 

Main photo: Johannes Plenio
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